24 September 2009

A couple of nights ago I had the strangest dream and I thought I would share it to maybe gain some insight and share, what I think, is a hilarious dream.

My dream starts out on particularly nice day. I remember this because I was thinking what a particularly nice day it is. I was off to a new job I was starting. I was going to work for the legendary Dan Patrick and his radio show. I listen to this show every morning and not only is it entertaining but I get my regular sport fix. I have no idea what my job is I just know I am going to work for him and his show. So I get there and I am greeted by Dan Patrick himself and he was a super nice guy and we talked about a bunch of different things but one thing in particular he asked me was, “What made you want to do a job like this?” Now, like I said my real self has no idea what that job is but my dream self has a total grasp of what it is I am suppose to be doing. Here is where it gets weird. I start telling him about how I was inspired in childhood by the man with the 24 inch pythons, Hulk Hogan. I go on to talk about how his advice about how I should be eating my vegetables, doing my homework, and listening to my mom and dad was a huge impact on me. I told him I was a true Hulk-a-maniac. I real self is screaming, “What the F*@k are you saying?!” So after that conversation I go to my office. I sit down at the sweetest desk/ drawing table I have ever seen Seton from the radio show walks in and says Dan wants to talk to me in the far conference room. I get up and start walking to this conference room down a weirdly lit hallway. By weirdly lit I mean everything was sort of grey and misty. I get the conference room and it looks more like a banquet room set up with TV cameras and microphone equipment. It is really well lit with natural sun light and at a long table sits Dan Patrick and, you guess it, Hulk Hogan. The weird thing it wasn’t Hulk Hogan now but circa 1996 NOW Hulk Hogan in a black bandana, and a tuxedo with the sleeves ripped off because, I assume, nothing could contain the his pythons. He extends his hand and says “Nice to meet you, brother” I start to laugh and freak out I mean really laugh. I laugh so hard in my dream that I wake up still with the feeling of that intense laughter.

22 September 2009

Life has seemed to step on my family a few times and it is hard. I really try and keep a positive outlook on things and move forward but it was brought to my attention that maybe being positive is not enough in some situations. Maybe toning down the positivity and being more encouraging and supportive is the way to go. To try and be more understanding of someone’s plight, instead of giving advice just listen.

So if you are reading this maybe you should take time and listen and encourage instead pushing your point of view.

At least that is what I am going to do...of course I will stay positive:)

15 September 2009

I have gone through a string of bad luck of late. With illnesses, mine and families, and joblessness my life has been a whirlwind of negativity. But in this chaos I have a few things. A few things you consider my "rocks"

1. My family:

What would I do without their support? My wife for just being there and keeping my head straight. She is going through a lot because of the job situation, or lack thereof but she is still there for me, for us, and for our family. My son can always make me laugh and sometimes that is all I need.

2. My friends:

I can't say enough about them. I am really lucky to have such close friends in my life. You know how usually people turn their back on you when you are down and out and that is really when you see who your friends really are. Well, lately it has been different. I have had an out pouring from people just wanting to help and be supportive. There are people that are new friends and people from the art community that have done what they can to help my situation. It really has changed the way I view the world. For that I am eternally grateful.

3. My art:

Lately I have been so very productive. I have been inspired. I know my shot will be coming and when it does it will be for my family friends and me. I know now that it is possible.

It really doesn't help to wallow and think how unfair and how bad your life is. Everyone has problems, some more than others. It is how we handle them that makes us better people. Being negative and stressed is tiring. I need to be awake for my family. I need to be awake for my friends. I need to be awake for me.

10 September 2009

Though the screams of Armageddon can be heard from here to Hades, Disney buying Marvel may turn out to be a cool thing. I think of all the Disney cartoons I enjoyed as a kid and the CGI films I enjoy now and I can’t help but think of the possibilities. A Pixar animated film featuring Marvel properties, Come on how is that not cool. Not to mention all the made for video cartoons being put out by Marvel. Imagine those same features made by Disney animators. I would kill to go to a Marvel themed store in my local mall or shopping outlet. Sure some may say that that is a sellout mentality but I think it propagates comics to the main stream. For someone like me who is trying to pursue a career in comics the more attention comics get, the more job opportunities may arise and is that such a bad thing.

These cool things have just leapt into to my life.I know they have been around for awhile but I really never got any request to do them until recently.I find them a great way to break the monotony of whatever you are working on.A perfect example of this is when I was recently commissioned to do a pin up and cover for a comic and the rigors of penciling, inking, and coloring, especially the flats were getting to me.I felt a bit stagnant working on these pieces because all of my free art time was spent drawing them.Now don’t get me wrong I love to draw and even if I am drawing something I don’t want to draw I still really enjoy myself.Point being, I needed a break.So I whipped up a couple of the sketch card commissions I had to do to give me the release I needed.

If you have never done sketch cards or haven’t gotten any request for them I would recommend you try a few.One of the real positives is for clients that want a piece of original art but really don't want to pay a ton of money.For an artist, a positive is a quick departure from what you are working on.You will get a quick sense of satisfaction you get from a completed piece in a fraction of the time and this, to me, is a great motivator.